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In Memory

In memory of our friend and colleague Amy Branch

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Female fans normally know more facts about what’s going on than men do anyway. I’d say they’re a more intelligent fan on top of that. They normally know more about what we’ve done than we know about what we’ve done. --- Tony Stewart

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There are female fans who take apart engines and will take you apart if you have a problem with that; who are drawn to the danger and mystery of the sport; who watch races on TV to witness pure passion and unscripted emotion; who love the camaraderie of these family-friendly festivals; who feel the nervous anxiety of the lip-biting wives atop the pit boxes. --- Andrew Giangola “The Weekend Starts on Wednesday”

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Three NASCAR drivers will bring the competition from the track to the 2010 ESPYS as they square off against one another in the Best Driver category, with one vying for the elite honor of Best Male Athlete.

The winners of these and other categories will be announced at the 18th annual performance sports awards ceremony in Los Angeles on July 14.

Four-time consecutive Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson received a pair of nods for Best Male Athlete and Best Driver. In the latter category, Johnson is a back-to-back winner, looking for his third straight win. But Johnson faces competition this year from reigning Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch and four-time Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday. The trio of stockcar drivers will compete against two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion and former NASCAR driver Dario Franchitti and six-time NHRA champion Tony Schumacher.

In the Best Male Athlete category, Johnson, a repeat nominee, is up against Drew Brees, Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the New Orleans Saints; basketball players Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers; and baseball player Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals.